Although, come to think of it, there's not much effort involved.
The most time-consuming part of the project is making almond milk. I'm pretty sure the hunter-gatherers didn't have blenders. Or refrigeratos. I'm not sure how they would have actually produced and stored almond milk, but it seems to me that modern paleo eaters squeeze in quite a few items that weren't around when cavewomen were trying to feed their families.
At any rate, if you're interested, here's how Martha Stewart makes almond milk:
HOMEMADE ALMOND MILK1 cup whole raw almonds
4 cups water, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place almonds in a blander. Bring 1 cup water to a boil; pour over almonds. Let stand 30 minutes. Add remaining 3 cups water and vanilla; blend until frothy. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Almond milk can be stored in refrigerator up to 5 days. Shake before serving. Makes 3-1/2 cups.
To make the frappé, simply combine 2 tablespoons almond butter, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon honey and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a blender. Pour over ice to serve.This is not your yummy coffee-shop thick, creamy frappé. Mine was watery, needed more cinnamon and was generally a waste of two tablespoons of almond butter. But I tried it. I can't think of any reason for someone eating paleo to NEED almond milk. Maybe to make paleo muffins? I certainly can't think of any use for the remaining 2-1/2 cups of milk in my refrigerator.
I was surprised at how much this product looks and tastes like commercial almond milk. If you'd like to pour a more natural almond milk product over your muesli, this is definitely a good solution.
Walked and worked yesterday, will do so again today. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Something as yet undetermined for lunch. Tomato and meat sauce over spaghetti squash for dinner. Looks like it's going to be cool and sunny most of the day. I'm hoping it dries up enough to get the lawn mowed tomorrow and maybe, maybe throw some seeds in the garden. Or clean up the herb bed. OR BOTH.
The patio tomatoes have been planted – a red cherry and a yellow pear – but I am way behind on everything else in the big garden. Oh, well, as my friend said yesterday, "You've always been sorry you didn't plant a late garden." Love her attitude.
7 comments:
To make a thick, creamy smoothie, peel and freeze some bananas (a good way to use bananas that are getting too ripe). Put a frozen banana broken into chunks in the blender, pour your almond milk over them, and add your flavorings. Bananas are very sweet, so you can skip the honey and the ice. I like banana, unsweetened cocoa, and almond butter with almond milk, but I don't know if cocoa is allowed on your plan.
Any frozen fruit works well for smoothies and it doesn't water down the flavor like ice. You can also toss in some baby spinach.
Honestly, I think smoothies are a habit that gets a lot of people into (major) trouble - too much fruit, too many calories, etc.
We planted SEEDS - flower seeds but seeds non the less. Hopefully we planted enough that the bunnies leave us a few . . .
I'm with Jen - love to make smoothies using frozen bananas, and I often use commercially produced almond milk for the liquid. And, while Vicki's point is correct - it's easy to keep adding and adding fruit and other ingredients to smoothies - if you're careful to be cognizant of that, it's possible to have a good, reasonable size smoothie with an appropriate amount of fruit.
A ratio of 4 cups water to one cup almonds is way too watery for me. i usually mix in 3 cups water at the most. I use it as a substitute for milk in my coffee. I have heard (read) people say that eating paleo is not about trying for some sort of caveman reenactment scenario but rather eating foods that support health. If you have not read the book (It Starts with Food) that the people behind the Whole 30 put out, I heartily recommend it. They explain in detail why smoothies and paleo-fied baked goods and desserts are not such a great idea (though the smoothie section did make me sad as I love smoothies and would have them every day if I could justify it).
One banana makes a very good smoothie for one person. And you can definitely throw in some greens. I don't do them often but on a hot day, they are great after a workout.
When I first "went paleo" I bought almond milk, and thought it was about the most disgusting thing I'd ever drank, except perhaps for soy milk :-(
After that, I allowed myself the splash of half-and-half every morning. Well worth it.
You are all right. The people I can think of who got themselves into major smoothie trouble, as I reflect, were using about a week's worth of fruit in every smoothie and it had become a constant habit. They were in the 'healthy' mind trap the same way people get in the 'organic' mind trap.
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